Thai Residency Permit

[siamrak 1]

I was wondering if being on a yellow house registration card would constitute, or allow, for a foreigner to be holding a Thai residency permit? Are these two the same things?

[surayu 77]

No not the same thing, as far as i can remember a Yellow Book will only certify that you are living in a certain property, you will not need to pay for a normal residence letter from the police anymore with it, if for example you have to purchase a car and it will also be needed before you can get the Permanent Residence, so it's a necessary step

[prakhonchai nick 3296]

A Yellow house registration book and Permanent Residency bear no resemblance to each other,

Thai residency allows the foreigner to remain in Thailand forever, without the need for regular visas. At best (if granted) it will cost 100,000bt, and possibly 200,000bt if the applicant is not legally married to a Thai citizen.

[Mario2008 3566]

A household registration means you have registered your address with the government and you officially live there. All official mail etc will be send to there.

Permanent residency means that you are allowed indefinitely to stay in Thailand, as opposed to needing yearly extensions of stay from immigration.

[keeniau96 511]

Residency still requires 90-day reporting. All the fuss and bother with no discernible benefit of note.

[Mario2008 3566]

Residency still requires 90-day reporting. All the fuss and bother with no discernible benefit of note.

Believe you are wrong here, a person with permanent residency only reports his presence every 5 years to the local police station.

[p_brownstone 1147]

Residency still requires 90-day reporting. All the fuss and bother with no discernible benefit of note.

Believe you are wrong here, a person with permanent residency only reports his presence every 5 years to the local police station.

Yes he's wrong - no 90 day report required.

Patrick

[KamnanT 502]

Residency still requires 90-day reporting. All the fuss and bother with no discernible benefit of note.

Discernable benefits of residency (depending on whether or not the individual considers these to be benefits):

- No 90 day reporting

- Report to your local police station once every five years to get your Alien Certificate stamped (a formality).

- No requirement to visit Immigration if you remain in Thailand. If you wish to leave Thailand and return, your Certificate of Residence needs contain a valid endorsement and your passport must contain a valid Non-Quota Immigrant Visa (not to be confused with a Non-Immigrant Visa). Both are valid for 12 months and obtaining them is a formality rather than a shifting set of goalposts interpreted at the whim of individual immigration staff.

- Criteria for a work permit are less onerous and as no extension of stay based on employment is required, employers do not need to demonstrate a 4-to-1 staff ratio or any minimum equity capital per work permit.

However, permanent residents are not Thai nationals and therefore the restriction on land ownership still applies. The only minor concession is that permanent residents may purchase condominium properties with local funds and do not need to demonstrate that funds were sourced from outside Thailand. Only a minor concession.

Up to the individual to conclude whether residency is worthwhile pursuing.

[siamrak 1]

Thanks everyone for clearing up the difference for me. From what I've heard "through the grapevine" however obtaining the residency permit appears to be tough, if for no other reason than that the processing of such applications has been severely delayed given political turmoil and all. Anyone know if the government has recently acted on applications at all? I guess the best bet for me to enter Thailand to stay is to find a company who can hire me so that I can get the work permit or join the university as a student.

[KamnanT 502]

I applied in December 2005 and was granted residency in July 2007. AFAIK, no subsequent applications (i.e. December 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) have made it through the process. I have a couple of friends waiting - it's very frustrating, particularly for those who have now been waiting almost 4 years.

[antony77 43]

Residency still requires 90-day reporting. All the fuss and bother with no discernible benefit of note.

You are wrong. Permanent residents only have to report every 5 years